Build the Wall for All!

Update:

The destruction of the historic White River Canal has begun! Today, folks from Butler Tarkington, Meridian Kessler and Rocky Ripple protested the City’s disastrous decision to construct a large flood across and along the canal. Whether you (i) use the canal towpath for recreation or know someone who does; (ii) enjoy the serene nature along the canal; (iii) frequent Holcomb Gardens; or (iv) have friends in Rocky Ripple who will suffer from this project, please act now to stop this terrible decision. There is a much better solution to this issue, which would not leave a lasting scar on our beloved community and jeopardize lives and properties. We have $9k promised for this effort and nearly $1k raised on this site to date. Please donate now, sign the petition at buildthewallforall.org and like these sites on Facebook.

Act now to save the Town of Rocky Ripple, Holcomb Gardens on Butler University Campus and the historic White River Canal! Your contributions, which can be accessed under the "Donate" tab above, will go toward mounting litigation to stop this ill-conceived and immoral project!

The City of Indianapolis and the Army Corps of Engineers are moving quickly to wall off 325+ homes in Rocky Ripple, Indiana, ensuring future flooding and the destruction of property values, and the destruction of the aesthetics associated with the White River Canal and Holcomb Gardens located on Butler University campus!!! Build the Wall for All is a campaign associated with the Indy Flood Protection Partnership that is fighting to help save the Town of Rocky Ripple, Indiana, and preserve the Canal and Holcomb Gardens. Your help and support can stop this decision from taking place.

A Flood Wall that Would Benefit Us ALL

After countless studies and endless research, there is an option to complete the White River flood wall beyond the Riviera Club and around the neighborhood of Rocky Ripple that financially, logically, and ethically makes the most sense for the good of ALL concerned.

The current City plan (Westfield Blvd Flood Wall) that Mayor Ballard approved in December 2015 and Mayor Hogsett's staff is moving forward with installing a major flood gate on the canal and removing the trees along the east side of the canal along Westfield Blvd. It installs a flood wall between Westfield Boulevard south from Capitol Avenue and extending into Holcomb Gardens. It requires sand bag closure of 52nd St and 53rd St as flood waters rise, sealing Rocky Ripple in the flood waters. This plan protects all properties east and north to Broad Ripple, but it excludes and abandons Rocky Ripple from the FEMA 100-year flood plain. This plan would leave the Butler West Campus property exposed and unprotected. This plan obligates City water rate-payers and City property tax payers to pay at least $16 million for Citizens Water to have an “emergency” intake at 30th Street to provide half the capacity of the canal water supply in case flood waters wash out the canal berm. The total cost of the current City plan will be on the order of $30 Million.

But there’s another, much more logical solution, which is instead to finish the White River flood project with a wall around Rocky Ripple. This option has been estimated to cost $20 - $40 Million. Which is potentially $10 Million more than the current Westfield plan, however the level of protection and benefits are considerably better for ALL concerned, which justifies the greater expense. Let’s look at a plan to build the wall around Rocky Ripple in more detail.

The wall around Rocky Ripple would protect everyone that the Westfield Wall protects plus everyone in the Rocky Ripple flood plain. It eliminates the FEMA 100-year flood plain from Broad Ripple down through Rocky Ripple including all of the affected surrounding neighborhoods, Butler University, and the commercial businesses. This is over 1,500 residents and 200 commercial properties.

If residents are allowed to work with the project engineers, instead of tearing down some houses in Rocky Ripple that are located along the river, it is possible the applicable homeowners would be financially assisted in moving their homes back from the river the 20 – 30ft that would be required to install the wall.

The wall would protect the Citizens Water Utility canal and the water rate payers thus would not need an emergency second intake. This saves the rate payers and taxpayers $15.6 Million dollar for the infrastructure plus the operating costs.

It would protect Holcomb Gardens from the flooding conditions of the Westfield Wall and would allow development of the campus on the west side of the canal.

Now the Ideal Financial Perspective:

The wall around Rocky Ripple has been estimated to cost between $20 - $40 Million to complete from the Riviera Club. An engineering feasibility study will determine a better estimate.

The City of Indianapolis could contribute at least the $10 million that it would have paid for the Ballard Westfield Wall deal.

Citizens Water could contribute the cost of the stretch of the wall between the Riviera Club and Rocky Ripple because that will prevent a flood wash-out of the canal at that point. The latest Corps estimate of that cost is $3 million. Citizens Water customers would save $5 million and operating costs for better water supply protection compared the Ballard deal.

Butler University could contribute $4 Million to the project. It would make sense for them to contribute to this project in order to protect their property instead of eventually having to spend much more than $4 million to build their own private levee for development of the west campus later.

With the above funding, the project would start with $17 Million as detailed above.Worst case scenario, this project will cost $40 Million to complete. Leaving a goal of $23 Million to generate.

So where would the rest of the dollars come from?

In order to get these funds, a Flood Levee District could be established. The District associated with the City could borrow the $23 million with a 30-year bond. The bond would be repaid by an assessment of all properties benefiting from the flood wall. The finances could be set for the repayment to begin as soon as the project is complete and the flood insurance is no longer required.

Therefore in the years ahead, property owners would pay an annual fee much less than the projected flood insurance rates. They would not be required to have flood insurance (and a future buyer also is not required to have it) and would be freed from construction restraints now in place.

If all residential property owners and commercial property owners from Broad Ripple through Rocky Ripple contributed, the residential fee would be below $750/year.

If TIFF funds could be contributed, accounting for the difference between the loss of property taxes of an abandoned, walled-in Rocky Ripple and the increase in property values from a neighborhood with investments in new homes and expanded homes, the rate would be lower.

If the US Army Corps of Engineers could be convinced to contribute the $9.4 million it had obligated for the Westfield Boulevard Wall into the Rocky Ripple Wall to complete its project, the starting cost would be $14 million and thus the rate per residence 40% lower.

So not only is the choosing to place the wall around Rocky Ripple possible, in the long run it would provide a much more dynamic and effective solution for all of the residences and businesses in the area.

The purpose of the website www.buildthewallforall.org campaign is to unite our minds and to create a consensus amongst all involved properties. Everything works a lot better when everyone is on the same page.Up to this point there has been a battle of perspectives and desires and obviously that hasn’t gotten any of us very far.The perspective and plan outlined above is proposed to benefit all concerned.So what to do next? Get in touch with your local government representatives and let them know that you support this plan and would like to see it implemented this way. Call them, email them, send them letters. Refer them to www.buildthewallforall.org for reference.

Make sure to read the FAQ section of this website for in-depth/technical questions and answers about the flood wall project.Click here for the FAQ page

----------------------------------------------Make sure to read the FAQ section of this website for in- depth/technical questions and answers about the flood wall project.Click here for the FAQ page------------------------------------------------

Our Purpose

​The purpose of this campaign is to unite our minds and to create a consensus among stakeholders. Everything works a lot better when everyone is on the same page.

Up to this point there has been a battle of perspectives and desires and obviously that hasn’t gotten any of us very far.

Get educated. Learn all of the options and choose for yourself what benefits the good of all concerned.